CIT Agrees: No AD Review for Alleged China Saccharine Transshipments

Domestic manufacturer Kinetic Industries, Inc. challenged the refusal by the International Trade Administration to initiate an AD administrative review of saccharine from China for the July 2009 - June 2010 period, arguing that Taiwanese companies were repackaging Chinese-produced saccharin and re-exporting it to the U.S. to evade AD duties. The Court of International Trade concurred with the ITA’s reasoning that since repackaging does not amount to “assembly,” the Taiwanese exporters were not “interested parties “ under the relevant statute (19 USC 1677j). The court also agreed with the ITA that the alleged transshipments would be better addressed in an anti-circumvention inquiry, or in a Customs and Border Protection investigation that could result in monetary penalties for transshipments arising from negligence or fraud. (Slip Op. 11-138, dated 11/17/11)